Spreadsheet applications provide many well-known benefits including data organization, computation, analysis and presentation. Some popular spreadsheet applications provide users worksheets and shapesheets comprised of cells in which data may be entered, computed and related to data in other cells. For example, a spreadsheet worksheet may allow a user to enter and total sales figures. Mathematical formulas may be applied to the spreadsheet cells to perform desired calculations on data contained on one or more cells. Spreadsheet application shapesheets allow users to create drawings, images, flowcharts and the like. In such shapesheets, data may be applied to cells comprising the shapesheet for controlling properties such as shape, width, height and the like.
According to such spreadsheet systems, users are free to enter any value or formula into a given spreadsheet cell that is otherwise allowable by the spreadsheet application, but that may produce an undesirable result. For example, a spreadsheet-based template may be developed where cell A1 represents percentage of sales between 0 and 100%. Even though an undesirable result may be obtained or presented, a user is free to enter a value outside the intended bounds of the cell, for example, 500%. In the context of spreadsheet shapesheets, a drawing template may be designed where cell A1 represents the width of a shape and cell A2 represents the height of the shape. In order for the shape to remain visually proportional and remain sized to fit properly on a given page, it may be desirable that the width of the shape be no less than one inch and no more than five inches (for example). However, even though an undesirable result may be obtained, a user is free to set the width beyond the intended bounds of the cell, for example eight inches.
There is a need in the art for a method and system for bounding the value of the content of a spreadsheet cell so that only values that are valid according to desired bound ranges may be entered into the cell. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.